Pavement light



M. R. DUFFY l PAVEMENT LIGHT Filed March 28. 1921 Dec. 1-1 1923.

Patented Dec. 11, 1923. l

PATENT OFFICE.

MILES'R. DUFFY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PAVEMENT LIGHT.

Application filed Mai-ch 2s, 1921. serial No. 456,478.

To au whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, MILES R. DUFFY, a citizen ot the United States, residinr at Chicago, in the county ot Cook and tate of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in `Pavement Lights, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to vault and pavement lights.

Among the objects ot my invention is to make these lights of a series of relatively small, readily handled units, each comprising a plurality of prisms, and to clamp the prisms between the frames with yielding gaskets interposed between them so that a repair may be readily made by unclamping the :trames and loosening the `particular prism or prisms which are to be repaired. 4Furthermore, the units being relatively small and easily handled, are connected in such a way to the supporting structure that they trames may be lifted out bodily when a repainis to `be made, and the removed unit replaced by a new one, the repairs being made in the shop, so that the sidewalk is at no time caused to be barricaded or in-v terfered withwhile the repair is being made. The invention consists iurther in the mat ters hereinafter described and' more particularly pointed out yin the appended claims.

In the 'accompanying drawings- *Fig lis a fragmentary perspective view of a pavement "or sidewalkv provided with units constructed and arrangedv in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is an' enlarged, transverse, vertical sectional view taken through the units shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view showing a `detail of construction;

4 fragmentary top plan view of a portion of the upper frame of one of the units; and

Fig. 5 isa view showing the various elements which make a complete unit, disassembled but arranged in the positions in which they are put` together. In Fig. lof they drawings, 1 indicates a building wall rising abeve a sidewalk or have portions engaging the ribs 7 and expavement at its inner edge, and in which pavement are units or trames 2 containing prisms or lights, in accordance with my invention, these units being located in the pavement between the building wall and the portion 3 oi the pavement adjacent the curb.

/Tlie units 2 are all alike and ot the same size, so a description of one will suihce for all; As clearlyshown in Figs. 2 and 5, each unit 2 comprises a top frame 4 and a bottom frame 5, both being made of sheet 0r other metal and of the same size. The-size of these frames is such that a single frame may be readily. and conveniently handled by one workman. The frames 4 and 5 are provided with a like number oi openings, which register or are in alignment when the frames are placed one above the other, and these openings are shaped to receive the prisms or lights 6 located between thc frames, as shownin Fig. 2. Each prism 6 has an outwardly projecting rib 7 extend- 'ing completely aboutit between its upper and lower ends, to form shoulders for the frames, and thus position the'prisms between them. Between the ribs 7 and the frames 4 and 5 are gaskets 8 and 9. These gaskets have the same general shape las the frames and are provided with the same number of openings to receive the prisms. The gaskets 8 and 9 are made of resilient material, preferably rubber and are cut or formed from sheets oft that material, and

tending completely7 around the same.

To secure the frames together and thus hold between them the prisms 6 and the gaskets 8 and 9, I provide clamp bolts 10, one of which isl shown in Fig. 3. The marginal and cross-members of each frame 4, 5 are made channel shape, as shown in the drawings, and the channels in the top `frame 4 are iilled with a composition such as lead or carborundum or'other abrasive with a binder to makesafety tread strips 1l, 'as shown in the drawings, and thus provide sate' walking under anyweather condition. These safety strips 1l are substantially Hush with the upper' edges of the top frame 4, 100

v in the channel and engage the side walls figure. To prevent the tread strip 11 from adhering to the head of the bolt and thus hinder the ready and .easy-` removal ot it when necessary, I place over the bolt head a metal plate 13, which is ot a size to tit thereof to hold it from displacement when pouring or placing the composition oit the tread stripv 11 over the same. This plate 18 is` curved or crowned to tit over the bolt head, as shown in Fini. 3. The bolt l() projects downward through the lower` frame o and there receives a nutl 14C to clamp the ytrames together with theV prisms and resili- 1 ent gaskets between them. To nnclamp the Mio frames L and 5 to release the prisms 6 tor repair' or otherwise, the nutsv 14 are re' moved from the bolts 10, the bottom frame 5 removes, and then the bolts shifted into the enlarged portions of the slots 12 and then Vwithdrawn trom them. The top 'tra me t may then be removed without disturbing the tread strips 11. To clamp the parts together, they are assembled and secured to-` gether by the bolts, as is obvious. This enablesbroken. scratched or damaged prisms f6 to be readilyand easily replaced, without being required to chip the prisms from the structure as required in the structures heretofore used.

The unitsv are'supported in place in the pavementin the following manner. To the i building wall 1 is securedi a structural steel Aframe 5., and` their lower endg .member lhavving forwardly projecting flange 1,6..V Vhenwthe distance between the pavement 3 and the building wall is sueh as to need morethan one unit 2, there are provided intermediate supporting members 17 in the formvof structural beams, as shown in 1` andQ, and having laterally projeotinrr flanges 18, 18 on opposite sides thereof. The pavement 3 is 'formed with a ledge or shoulder 19. All parts of th-e units 2 are clamped together before being placed in the pavement, and when inserted in place rest .on the flanges mentioned.

yumts in place or down against the struc- To hold the tural members, I provide a number of turnbuekles 2O having their upperends somewhat hook-shaped to engage in apertures in .depending flanges 21 onthe bottom hooked. to enmembers, as a yleak proof gage ,under the supporting` shownV in Fig. 2. To make joint lit-)tween the bottom frame 5 of each unit 2 and its supporting members, l pro vide Vt'or each unit a rectangular `gasket which may he oi? lead. This extends around the associated unit, and is open to permit' the prisms (i and Hannes 2l to project through the sume. lVhen the pavement has a number ot units arranged lengthwise thereof. cross-beams 2?; are provided to sup port the sides of the interposed units. as in dicated in Fig. l.

As shown. and described herein. each unit 2 comprises a ililurality ot' lights or prisms 6. and each unit is made in such a small size that it may be convenienthY handled. lifted, and repaired by a single workman. Should any of the prisms or lights become damaged or broken by use in a pavement. it is not necessary.Y to chip out the light or the cement binder about the same, as heretotore, or t-o barricade the pavement while the work is being; done or while the nement sets and becomes hard after the repair has been made. thus blockingr tree movement o't tratiie over the pavement during' all of that time.

With my invention, whenever any one or more of the prisms in any one or more of the units 2 become broken or damaged by use in the pavement, the particular unit or units, as the `case may be, are readily and easily lifted out ot the pavement after loosening' the turn-lnickles tor that unit, and a new unit inserted in its place and clamped down. as is apparent. The use of the pavement is interfered with no longer than re- .quired to take out a unit and put another in its place, and this is a comparatively short time when compared with the time required for repairing! as heretofore. The damaged unit after removal is taken to the shop and repaired as time permits. This saves time and labor in making repairs. which is quite an item in the upkeep and maintenance of payment lights in large cities where tratlic over pavements is heavy and where parement liehts, in many cases. extend around building the entire city block and then overpractically all of the pavement trom the building wal] to nearly the curb line. This reduction in hindranoe to trailie over the pavement when repairs are made. and the tact that the repairs may be made in the shop is a saving in the npkeep ot' the sidewalk, berause. for one thing, the workman can make the repairs at times when he is not engaged in other work in and about the building. Moreover. the trames being separable and no cement or other hinder being` used to hold the prisms in place, makes ropa-irs possible by unskilled laber, which is another saving in the cost of pavement maintenance.A

The prisms 6 completely till the openings in the top 'frame t, and thus do not require the use of a binder or cement to make the joint between `such parts. .liloreoverjthe resilient gaskets provide sufcient joint between the prisms and the frames,` and the gaskets being yof resilient material will yield under expansion and contraction vof the parts and thus avoid the likelihood of breaking prisms through that factor. The units 2 may be made at the factory and shipped completely assembled to the j ob and there laid, without requiring the making of any joints about the prisms or otherwise working on the units other than clamping them in place.

The use of relatively small units makes it possible to use relat-ively narrow marginal and cross strips in the frames, thus not only making the frames light in weight but giving more light per square foot of surface, as the amount of glass may be increased over that as heretofore.

Other and further advantages incident to my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which it relates.

While I have shown and described herein in detail a structure embodying the features of my invention, it is to be of course understood that the details of'construction and arrangement of parts may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. Furthermore the use of the word prisms in the specification and claims to denote the glass inserts 6 is to be comprehensive enough 'to cover lenses or any other form of translucent inserts that may be used in the frames or units.

I claim as my invention:

1. A device of the character described, comprising top and bottom frames, stamped from sheet metal and having aligned openings, prisms tting in said openings, said prisms having outwardly projecting ribs between the top and bottomy surfaces of said prisms and eXtending completely. about the same, said ribs being between said frames, sheet gaskets having substantially the same shape and size of said frames and arranged on opposite sides of said ribs betweenthe same and said frames, said gaskets having openings to receive said prisms and registering with the openings in said frames, and means for releasably clamping said frames together and against said ribs.

27A device of the character described, comprising top and bottom frames, stamped from sheet metal and having aligned openings, prisms fitting in said openings, said prisms having outwardly projecting ribs between the top and bottom surfaces of said prisms and extending completely about the same, said ribs being between said frames, sheet gaskets having substantially the same shape and size of said frames and arranged on opposite sides of said ribs between thek same and said frames, said gasketshaving openings to receive said prisms and registen ing with the openings in said frames, and bolts extending* through said gaskets between. said ribs and engaging said frames for releasably clamping the same together and against said ribs. 1

3. A device of the character described, comprising top and bottom frames, stamped from sheet metal, and having marginal and cross members, forming aligned openings in said frames, prisms litting in said openings and having ribs between said frames, gaskets between said ribs and frames, means for releasably clamping said frames together, and safety tread strips carried by the marginal and cross-members of said top frame.

LA device of the character described, comprising top and bottom frames, stamped from sheet metal, and having marginal and cross members, forming aligned openings in said-frames, prisms iitting in said openings and having ribs between said frames, gaskets between said ribs and frames, means for releasably clamping said frames together, the marginal and cross members of said top frame being channel shaped, and safety tread strips in said channels.

5. A device of the character described, comprising top and bottom frames, stamped from sheet metal, and having marginal and cross members, forming aligned openings in said frames, prisms tting in said openings and having ribs between said frames, sheet gaskets' on opposite sides of said ribs and having openings to receive said prisms and registering with the openings in said frames, the marginal and cross members of said top frame being channel shaped, and certain of said members having key shaped holes therein, bolts extending through said holes Vand said bottom frame for clamping the frames together, safety tread strips molded in said channels, and plates below said tread strips and over said bolt heads for covering the same.`

6. In a pavement, the combination with an open framework constituting a supporting structure for pavement lights, of a plurality of units, all of substantially the same size and capable of being easily and readily handled, each unit comprising top and bottom metal frames with prisms between them, means in each unit for detachably clamping the frames together and holding the prisms between them, and means located beneath said units for detachably clamping the same separately to said supporting structure, said last named means being accessible from beneath said units.

7. In a pavement, the combination with an open framework constituting a supporting structure for pavement lights, of a plurality of units, all of substantially the same size and capable of being easily and readily handled, each unit comprising topnnd bottom'rnetal frames With prisms between them, means in each unit for detaehably clzunpng the frames together and holding the prisms -between them. and means located beneath seid units for detaehably Clzunpng the saune separately to sind supportlng stmetu1'e,sa1d last named means belng engaged Wlth the bottom frmnes of the several units :md the supporting Structure und accessible from be- 10 day of March, A. D. 1921.

MILES R. DUFFY. 

